Vermont Crossing Guard Earns $14K/Month From Handwritten Mail Club

Christine Tyler Hill, a 36-year-old school crossing guard in Burlington, Vermont, has built a surprisingly profitable side hustle from her morning commute observations — earning roughly $14,000 a month through a handwritten, illustrated mail club.

Hill took the crossing guard job in late 2023 after years working as a designer and illustrator, seeking a deeper connection with her community. Each weekday, she spends 50 minutes at a crosswalk near a local school, absorbing small but meaningful moments — thank-you notes from children, snow drifting past storefronts — and turning them into monthly “cloud reports” she shared on social media. Her followers quickly grew attached, even messaging her when she missed a post.

From Free Posts to Paying Subscribers

In January 2026, Hill announced her mail club to her 33,000 TikTok followers in a seven-second video. For $8 a month, subscribers receive a handwritten, illustrated eight-page magazine chronicling her observations from the crosswalk. Within days, she had 1,000 subscribers. She now has around 2,000 paying members, with 3,600 more on a waiting list.

Why Physical Mail Still Resonates

The success reflects a growing appetite for tangible, personal content in a digital-saturated world. “People really want physical things,” Hill told The Wall Street Journal. “The response to it has been crazy.” After factoring in a 15% discount for annual subscribers, her cumulative monthly revenue has climbed to approximately $14,000 — all generated from a 50-minute morning shift.

Hill’s story is a reminder that hyperlocal, authentic storytelling can be a powerful business model.